Boy, I couldn't agree more with health insurance being the biggest "gotcha"! I medically retired at 39, will officially retire at 50 (yr and a half to go) while DH, who is 52, is still working due to health insurance costs. He currently pays $50 per month towards his ins. (which will probably go to $125 with the new contract) Once he retires (in 2 yrs) we have to pay the entire amt. which is over $900 per month as of two months ago. We've worked it into the "spending plan" but it still hurts!

This is a "gotcha" that may work in reverse for me. Currently, I am in the IT field and working as an independent contractor. My youngest son has some medical conditions that exclude him from coverage on individual health plans. Therefore, we had to enroll in a group plan but we are responsible for the entire premium.

The good news is the healthcare provider recently changed and our premiums went down from over $800 to just under $700 per month. If the time comes where my son no longer has his current medical problems or he is of age and no longer covered on our insurance, I imagine we will be able to save on our healthcare costs.

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